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Lawrence Miller
Lawrence Miller rose to become a mythic leader of the human survivors of Universe B's zombie apocalypse on Earth Life pre-Landing Lawrence lived an innocuous life working in an office building until the forced landing of Morcor's Marõid ship and the subsequent transfer of disease between species. Lawrence had subscribed to the belief that just because he was for all intents and purposes a desk jockey did not mean he had to let his body go to fat, and therefore was in good enough shape to flee the first infected when they came after him. Lawrence and Angus Fletcher investigated the sounds coming from the floors below, and were chased by the first zombies. A group including a young Peter Abbott, who looked up to Lawrence as his professional mentor, had come to follow them, and when the zombies attacked Lawrence punched one and threw it down before it could hurt Peter. Nadia Templeton and Amos Green, who had come with Peter were both attacked. Amos was devoured and Nadia bitten. Lawrence and Angus armed themselves with stools and fought back while others were fleeing. After barricading themselves within the office, the group discussed the situation, and Lawrence had Nadia quarantined despite Angus's objections due to his suspicions about her wound. In the Office Lawrence and Angus quickly began to butt heads over what to do with Nadia, Lawrence believing she would become like the zombies that had attacked them and Angus refusing to believe in such fantastical crap. Lawrence knew Angus was secretly still in love with Nadia, and it pained him to push the point. He was backed up by security officer Sanjay Desai. However, Peter later warned Lawrence that Sanjay was setting Lawrence up to take the blame for making the hard call. Lawrence and Sanjay debate during a group meeting, and Lawrence later hears from Angela Holcomb that the group is looking to Sanjay as a leader. As time passes, it begins to sink in that rescue may not be coming for some time. Thus, Lawrence pushes the necessity of a mission beyond the safety of the office to scavenge for food and weapons. Peter volunteers to come with him, as does Angela, Terence and Angus. They use Sanjay's security clearance to access the security camera room and spot where all the zombies are in the building so as to avoid them. Sanjay stays behind with Mary Ledford and Thomas Mancini along with everyone else, and Lawrence's group departs. They recover a good amount of food as well as some weapons from fallen military and police officers. When they return, they find the office has been attacked. Everyone is dead except for Sanjay, who claims to have survived by using his taser. Lawrence has Terence and Peter check the security footage and discovers Sanjay had barricaded himself inside a closet, allowing Mary to die. They also discover that when Thomas Mancini, a smart accountant, was bitten, he had started tearing away the desks and chairs blocking the door instead of going after the other people. He had been clubbed to death shortly after, but his intelligent effort makes Lawrence wonder about an intelligence correlation. Founding the Lab Now in charge of their group, Lawrence leads the others through the ruined city of Cherino and to the walled compound where Marõid survivors had been living. They make a new home here, founding the Laboratory Compound. As more and more survivors are picked up, Lawrence becomes increasingly aware of the presence of hostile groups in the area. Lawrence is still in support of an open gate policy until this allows Jeff Warren and his men to enter and subdue the armed men within, nearly taking control of the Lab. They are thwarted by the return of the fighters in the Marõid hovercrafts and Jeff is killed. However, Lawrence never forgets how close they came to losing everything. They encounter Zach Dawson, and Lawrence converses with him to learn more of the nature of the zombies. They learn of the different types, and Zach warns that what he has seen leads him to believe something worse is coming. Soon after that, the Farm encounters a mammoth and lead it toward the hills, accidentally sending it towards the Lab. Unprepared to deal with the bulletproof behemoth, the Lab is breached and Lawrence orders an evacuation. The few survivors who escape the Lab are lost until they come to Chester Tower. Securing Chester Tower Arriving at Chester Tower, Lawrence is introduced to Murray Bates, the supposed leader after Chester Lewis died. However, it soon becomes clear that the place is truly run by John Sands, operating under a hidden identity. He has allowed for a dark web of crime to overtake Chester Tower, as he deals in human trafficking to the Prison via a man named Brandon Jordan. Lawrence soon learns John Sands' true identity and begins making plans to overthrow him. However, this results in him and Angus being captured and tortured. Murray watches, ineffective as he is only a puppet leader. Lawrence and Angus each lose a finger during the first day of torture, but in the night Murray Bates and Peter Abbott arrive and free them. Together with some men loyal to Murray, they flee into the night. Now Lawrence knows the identity of the man controlling Chester Tower, but has no idea how to get to him. He works with Murray, who still has contacts in the Tower but warns that no one can be trusted. If they return to the Tower, Sands will have them killed on the spot. Lawrence says that abandoning the Tower is not an option. It is secure, and his people are still living there. John Sands' downfall is brought about when Elizabeth Richards reveals that John Sands is keeping Caroline Howard as a prisoner in a remote location. She confesses to having helped John but betrays him now because he does not love her. Lawrence and Angus rescue Caroline, and Lawrence kills his first human in doing so. Caroline has been beaten and abused, but still tells the group about her discovery of John Sands' involvement in Scott Williams' murder. This is the final straw, and Murray knows they can bring down John Sands. Lawrence leads the attack on Chester Tower. His group enters, taking down several armed men, and finally arresting John Sands after a protracted battle. John warns that upsetting his system will lead to the end of the Tower, but he is executed after a short trial. Lawrence and Murray become joint leaders of the Tower and try to oust any remaining members of John's crime organization, but some slip through. This weakens the Tower's leadership considerably. Brandon Jordan flees to the Prison, trading information for asylum. Bing Huang accepts him after he reveals the gas leakage in the basement, but later sends him in an offering to the Realm, where he is slaughtered by Reapers. As Sands warned, an army from the Prison arrives and after terse negotiations attacks the Tower using slings to launch gas bombs, Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs. Murray has his men fire back, but Lawrence realizes the aim is to destroy the Tower by igniting the gas. He orders an evacuation, which succeeds just in time as the Tower is brought down by a second attack. Once again homeless, the group tries to take two towers in Cherino, but as they approach the lower levels a strange gas causes them men to transform into zombies. Out of options, they return to the vacant Lab and rebuild there. Lawrence meets Kayla Ferguson, with whom he develops romantic tension. The Warmonger The Lab and the Prison soon go to war, as Lawrence is enraged at the death of Peter Abbott. He leads an attack on the Prison, and frees Suzanne Mercer and other captives. Sanjay nearly abandons them due to the arrival of a horde, but Morcor makes sure they get out. Lawrence is stabbed in the leg, and walks with a limp forever after. The Lab also challenges the Realm in a brief war that ends in an uneasy truce when Lawrence and the others witness the cooperation between Realmers and the Tall Man's zombies. To combat the growing zombie threat, Lawrence approves the creation of the Exterminator program, which proves to be incredibly effective. After attacks from Tony Stone and Marcel Sutton's group, Lawrence promotes the creation of the Watch to protect the streets within the Lab. Lawrence is conscious of, yet allowing the Exterminators to operate independently during their campaign against the Tall Man. After the destruction of the Palace, Lawrence orders the peninsula to the Arena and the Zombie Farm to be walled off, and Exterminators to man the wall. As tensions boil over, it becomes clear that the Prison will be attacked again. This time, the Lab and the Fort join forces. Lawrence becomes so preoccupied with preparations for this attack that he neglects to pay sufficient attention to the situation at the wall. Lawrence sends Nikolaj Strickland, Joshua Locke and Seamus Desmond to the wall when asked for reinforcements. He is later in support of pardoning Bill Murphy and his band for coming to the rescue of the wall. As final preparations are made to attack the Prison, so too are preparations being made at Fort Kenneth. Angus calls Lawrence to inform him of the ambush, and Lawrence is horrified to learn that the code-carriers may have all been lost. Lawrence is then notified that the Farm was seen burning. He dispatches a rescue team to the Farm, but is too late to save the Fort Kenneth team, as Zach Dawson detonates the nuclear bomb. The attack on the Prison drives out its population, and it is repurposed into an actual prison. Bing Huang gathers the survivors together for a counterattack on the Fort. Meanwhile, Mitchell Almeida's Exterminators on the wall are attacked by the Fourth Kind coming from down south and wiped out. The wall is torn down and the Red Horde moves north. Fort Outpost 2 is destroyed and Sanjay Desai is killed. Fort Outpost 7 goes quiet. Then 4. The Fort alerts the Lab that it is dead set on them. A team from Fort Outpost 6 attempts to forestall the oncoming army by using canisters of the lethal gas, but an attack by the Red Horde drives the team into the Metro. The Fourth Kind pursue them, unaware that they have violated the truce between the Tall Man and the Denizen. Perry's Red Horde is decimated in the confrontation, and the team unleashes the gas in the subterranean tunnels where it wreaks havoc on both sides. Two of them escape, and are unsure how many survived the epic battle between mutants and monsters. As the first of the Horde begins to arrive at the Lab, Lawrence has prepared a full defense. He has also ordered all non essential personnel to re-locate temporarily to the Fort in case of a breach. When the first of the Fourth Kind arrives, Rowof kamikazes himself into the beast to bring it down. The Fort helicopter helps to fight off the others, and Lawrence notices the movement of the zombies indicates the presence of a leader, likely a King. When the movement becomes confused, Lawrence knows something is going down. He orders the Fort copter to deploy men at that location. Jack Banes leads the strike team, and finds Leader fighting Perry Gerard. Jack shoots down Leader, giving him a mere flesh wound, and kills Perry Gerard. Lawrence orders an immediate evacuation as more of the Fourth Kind and enhanced zombies arrive. He is nearly killed by a Hunter but is picked up by the helicopter. He watches in horror as the other hovercraft is attacked by Ava Dawson, but relieved to see the others have survived. Joining the Fort Lawrence is accepted into the Fort, and helps to fight during the attack by the Prisoners. They are fought off and Bing is killed by Kent Francis. After the recent loss of life and arrival of new refugees, a new election is staged and Lawrence becomes second-in-command to Wallace Fordworth. Lawrence introduces the Watch to the Fort, and had also made secret arrangements to swap Sara's baby with another orphan in order to do tests on Zach Dawson's son to see if he had inherited his father's abilities. However, the death of the false son leaves him in a tough position. Lawrence gives a Fort Outpost to the Marõid, warning Morcor that xenophobic groups have been making dangerous noise. Despite him making arrests, he cannot stop the slaughter of the Marõid. He captures those responsible and brutally maims them before banishing them. Lawrence approves the mission south led by Percy Sharrow. When Sharrow becomes embroiled in a conflict between the Empire and the united Caldwell Kingdom and Riverside Colony, he begins to question sending for help. It is not until the face off with the 300 rogues at Ford Town that Sharrow sends Courtney Wolfe to ask the Fort for aid. Lawrence arrives with an army to defeat the rogues. Despite the heavy losses of Percy's team, Lawrence regards it as a success as it introduces them to Ford Town, Caldwell Kingdom and Riverside Colony. This leads to a second team being put together, with Percy electing his second Oliver Duffy to lead the team. While Lawrence and the army is down south, they leave the Fort vulnerable to an attack by Realmers. After the attack, an army of zombies attack and they breach the walls, harvesting a vast amount of civilians. A small percentage is sent to the Realm, and the rest are taken to the Farm. When Fort Outpost 5 attempts to secede, Wallace goes to deal with them and leaves Lawrence in command of the Fort. Soon after this, Wallace is poisoned with a zombie infection. This elevates Lawrence to command, but places him under suspicion as it would have been very difficult to poison someone in this manner. Adam Cox attempts to kill Lawrence after coming out of his depression, which puts him as the main candidate for Wallace's murder, but Lawrence knows it couldn't have been. Alena Barlow confesses, as she did it for the Realm she once belonged to. Lawrence has her executed. With a mounting war with the Empire, Lawrence proposes to make a truce with the Realm by giving them tribute of people. The Speaker authorizes the Bishops to accept. Lawrence plans to give them prisoners until the war with the Empire is over. Lawrence is present in the final battle at Caldwell Capital, where he intimidates a group of soldiers into leaving him alive by threatening to ignite gas fumes that would destroy the building. He does so only after making his escape, allowing him to survive the battle. In the aftermath, he walks the battlefield and finds Sara Abbott, Amy Stapleton and Tessa Wright. They find Preston Greenfield and three other Exterminators (Jacob, Dylan and Sean), and also unite with former Empress Elizabeth Robinson and her surviving guards, Matt Fallon, Andrea Woods and Jonas Butler. On the Road Lawrence believes the war to have wiped out all survivors on the east coast of America, not knowing the population at the Prison survived the final battle. He leads the group west, where they encounter Connor Hammond's group aboard the bus. They come across more survivors from Ford Town: Frank Abernathy, Carlos Aiza, Violet Jones, Lester Morrow, Declan Hannigen, Andy Duly, Castro Ramirez, Jack Banes and Petra O'Doyle. Sara doesn't think Lawrence should be leader anymore, as they had been winning the war but somehow everyone died anyway. Connor and Lawrence butt heads as the bus and Truck 5 head north together. They are attacked by a group which Connor claims drove them from their home in Texas. With Lawrence's group lying in wait, they slaughter the attackers. After being pursued by a massive horde, the group arrives in a former Empire city where the "Emperor" is overthrown by Robsinites and a puppet monarch holds sway over the city. Connor tries to kill Lawrence but is stopped and shamed by Lawrence, then he and his co-conspirators are sent out to forestall the zombie horde, which tames Connor's temper. Meanwhile, the Robsinites depose Ted, their puppet monarch and turn on Lawrence's team, killing the crew of Truck 5. Lawrence organized the city's defense, but that doesn't stop the Robsinites from attacking him. Jacob joins them and kills Elliot, who was inciting violence against their party. Caleb and Jacob kill each other, the Robsinites reject Elizabeth Robinson, signaling their loss of sight. Lawrence's group escapes intact, continuing to head to Illinois to the facility where B.W. Eldarge had been attempting to fight the contagion. Chad had been doing much research, and by uniting with Lawrence's group he believed he had the information he needed to make a sickness specific to the individuals carrying the zombie germ. The resources he needed were in Illinois. They secure the facility even as a group of Marauders led by Dante Sanders, Skai, Adam Cox, Brad Irwin and others. Lawrence wrestles Skai, and is nearly killed but Ram kills Skai. In the end, Lawrence walks the city and is cornered by Adam at gunpoint. Adam intends to kill Lawrence and Lawrence talks about all his failures and how it crushes on him, giving Adam his permission to do so. Adam then refuses to kill Lawrence, now seeing it as a mercy. Instead, he ends his own life. Lawrence promises to take the group to Riverside Colony. On the way, they are attacked by raiders as they near Riverside, and rescued by Preston Greenfield. Preston is wounded and dying. They are attacked by Dante, who is shot down and killed by the sudden arrival of Percy Sharrow, who kills Dante with Kent's sword. Percy is there when Preston dies. Lawrence is amazed to find that other survivors of the war have also populated Riverside. He finds Dale Kahler and asks for a passenger manifest, finding that Zach Dawson's son is still alive. New Riverside and the North Connor and Lawrence join Anna Flynn and Ethan Cummings in leadership of the repopulated Riverside. Lawrence finds Kayla is still alive and they rush into an embrace. After Ethan's team is captured by the Last District, Lawrence takes Noah Bancroft north with him and the army. Ethan is brainwashed to assassinate Lawrence, but kills himself instead at the last moment. Lawrence discovers the remnants of the Red Horde still in the area and becomes trapped and hunted. While he is fighting the Denizen's army, Connor turns his allies against him. Anna, Niko, Kayla, Ram. Leader arrives in the midst of a climatic battle and kills the Denizen before leading the Horde away. Lawrence returns and is saddened to discovers Milton Irwin's deception. He executes Milton despite being friends. Lawrence is shocked to be arrested upon arrival in Riverside and stands trial for all his failures. He is banished by Connor after Percy refuses to allow Connor to execute him. Lawrence is given only a knife and Connor gives Niko the silenced pistol and orders him to go out and make sure Lawrence never comes back. Niko finds Lawrence washing his face and hands in a stream as it rains. He touches his sword to Lawrence and says see, I have cut out your heart. Zombies ate your body. He leaves Lawrence, and gives him the pistol to help him survive. Months later, Lawrence sneaks back into Riverside. Connor has started a family with Kayla. Lawrence awaits Connor in his room while the others are having dinner downstairs. Connor refuses to believe Lawrence is going to kill him. Lawrence says you took everything from me, but I will only take one thing from you before killing him with the pistol. He then flees Riverside. Lawrence is camping on the coast when he spots a large vessel. He signals to the unfamiliar flag and is shocked to see Terence on board. Terence had departed across the ocean on the plane years ago after the return of Percy's people. Terence comes with the authority of the Utopia and puts Lawrence under his protection as he enters Riverside. An army of Marauders, united under chieftains including former Exterminator George Milner, now called "Gormiln." After tensions rise, the two groups have a peace feast, wherein they double cross one another. Marauder chieftains are poisoned and the Riverside guests are killed by car bombs. Tensions rise between Terence and Lawrence as Lawrence takes back power in Riverside and the return to the frontier from the safety of the Utopia once again begins to degrade Terence Payne's sanity. Lawrence orders the heir of a Marauder chieftain assassinated, and then is horrified to learn that it was a child. He then receives a threat that any further violence against the Marauders will result in harm coming to the pregnant Kayla. Soon, a battle comes to Riverside. In the peak of the battle, Gormiln fights his way to Lawrence's position and the two grapple in a knife fight. Lawrence is able to wound the chieftain and throw him from the roof, where he is impaled upon a fortification and devoured by zombies. Lawrence collapses to his knees, knowing the implications of this will mean Kayla's death. Terence enters the roof behind him and starts to speak, but Lawrence knows what is going to happen. He urges Terence to do it, and Terence cuts his throat. Lawrence permitted this to happen, knowing it was the only way for Kayla and her child to survive. Investigation Jack Banes was the first to discover Terence's murder, but he was abducted and sent to the Utopia as a drafted soldier. Eventually, the truth came out, but not for more than a decade. Lawrence's funeral was held in the ruins of the Lab. The world mourns for him, and he is remembered in legend. Those who knew him remember him both as a hero and a villain, often debating the morality of his decisions when pondering their own courses of action. Due to the time of Damon Ferguson's conception, it has been wondered by some such as Sara Abbott and Jack Banes if he truly is Connor Hammond's son or Lawrence Miller's. The identity of Damon's father may be more important than previously thought, as if Damon is indeed the father of Ella's son Cole then it establishes a lineage descending from Lawrence himself. Disrupted Timeline In the Disrupted Timeline, Lawrence is captured by Gormiln, Cuik, Myzechrez, Red and Charm. Gormiln explains to Lawrence one night that it's a bounty they've captured him for. But Karl Stone and Stephen Adair attack one night and free Lawrence, killing several of his captors. However, Gormiln returns with zombies and Inferus in tow, who take Karl and Lawrence captive and provide Gormiln with passage to Katroiris as his reward. The pair is rescued by Zach Dawson and Necrobane while they were hunting the Tall Man. Zach's fears are confirmed in the Annihilation Wave. After A-Day, Lawrence seizes control and sends all the Defenders to kill the Leviathan and promises forgiveness to all criminals who take up arms in defense against the Wave. During the Guardian World War, Lawrence and Sean agree to release Vizahndro from prison in order to use his intelligence. After Danyg fakes his death in the Guardian World War in order to retire, Lawrence provides him with a new identity as thanks for his service. After the Shade Guardian named Wraith the next Guardian, Lawrence recognizes the Shade Guardian's authority and personally swears Wraith in. After the death of Nightmare and the dragonlords, Lawrence gives a speech at Syrene promising that humanity can finally advance without fear. Secretly, when he and Sara talk they believe that beyond the portal they may still be alive. However, Yondoffrinask invades shortly after. Niko Nylund and Lawrence force an entrance into the stronghold of Yrodrik Firstborn and are about to take the fortress when Yondoffrinask's forces arrive on Earth. Lawrence and Danyg had previously teamed up to stop the plans of the Devastator and the Annihilator. Lawrence visits the prison underground and finds Bing Huang still in captivity. But he's not here for old enemies. He visits the Ravager who has been resistant to all torture. Lawrence and the Ravager converse, and as a cruel joke the Ravager reveals the origin of the Disrupted Timeline, confirming Lawrence's fear that they cannot go back. Wraith wanted to negotiate with the Duchess, but Lawrence had Niko order her assassination. Yeludur sends men to kill Gelne, and when Lawrence discovers the outcome of Project Isomer he is furious with Yeludur for killing Gelne. The two debate about whether they should fight to live in a real universe or live happily in a fake one. During the Second Annihilation Wave, Lawrence travels to Tulyon accompanied by Declan Hannigen, Erasmus Grimes, Sam Capello and Kenny Gagnon. He discovers the passage to Formin that Kelmadur, Beast and Wraith had told him of. At the end of the Wave, when Wrane takes power from Ayahk, Lawrence is the savior of humanity by ushering all survivors through Tulyon and escaping to Formin. Here he waits alongside the others until Lucien is grown and will return to do battle with Wrane.